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Former NLSIU Bangalore registrar V Nagaraj will re-join NLSIU on 6 June as professor, after he resigned as NLUO Cuttack’s vice chancellor (VC) over differences with NLUO’s executive council (EC) member and Orissa high court sitting judge justice Indrajit Mohanty.

NLUO university sources confirmed that geology professor Dr Priyambada Mohanty Hejmadi is acting as the VC until appointment of the next VC for which the search process is yet to be initiated.

Nagaraj, who was on deputation from Bangalore to head the Cuttack law school, resigned from the post of VC on 16 May and his resignation was accepted yesterday, as reported by Legally India. He said that while “the government has given very good support to this institution”, he had been “trying to resist interference” by the judiciary in the law school’s administration.

“Lack of accountability [ to the vice chancellor] over a period of time [will lead to] all the employees taking advantage [of the situation]. That was the reason I was resisting this level of interference,” commented Nagaraj.

Several authoritative sources told Legally India that undue administrative interference by justice Mohanty, who has been on NLUO’s EC since the beginning and has continuously disputed and contradicted the decisions of every VC to have headed the law school, motivated Nagaraj’s resignation.

Nagaraj told Legally India that the Orissa government had sanctioned Rs 150 crore for NLUO’s new campus the construction of which has been stopped by Mohanty since its first phase got completed in August 2012. He said that the academic block and other parts of the new campus are yet to be completed, while construction of the hostels has been minimal.

Sources predicted that a civil judge or a court officer may assume the post of VC at the law school next, so as to be eagerly subservient to justice Mohanty’s administrative whims.

NLUO had launched ten research centres of its own during Nagaraj’s tenure, as reported by the Telegraph, while, he said, there was one faculty member for every 20 students at the law school presently.

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very sad.....this was bound to happen. Orissa Hihg Court will ruin this growing institution.In the recent past university did so well in all fields but again depressing moments...Let I Mohanty appoint Rangin as VC so that he can run university from his office....ridiculas

The picture and article are very misleading. Firstly, the given picture is of the Admin Block. The university had undertaken to provide the students with a fully functional Acad block by the beginning of the next semester and it has done so. Moreover, the construction of the hostel has not been minimal. Every student of the university is provided with a single occupancy room as soon as they enter the university, which isn't found in any of the top ranking universities. Therefore, the given photograph does not give a true picture of the state of infrastructure in the university.Secondly, the comment about stalled construction since 2012 is untrue. Most of the significant developments in the construction of the campus have been in the year 2013-14. I'm sure all the students and faculty of NLU-O will back me up on this.This is a sincere request to Legally India to please verify information before posting on a public forum.

She is a merely part of the University Academic Council and not a faculty member. And yes, a geology professor has no business at a law school. But then, lesser mortals like us have no control over such things. Do we?

The real issues are being obfuscated here. While judges shouldn't interfere in law school, could VC have a carte blanche to meddle with finances? An investigation into his financial dealings both at NLSIU and NLUO should be ordered.

The real issues are being obfuscated here. While judges shouldn't interfere in law school, could VC have a carte blanche to meddle with finances? An investigation into his financial dealings both at NLSIU and NLUO should be ordered.

Well, anyone associated with NLUO will not find this surprising. From the Day one there has been interference from the Judiciary and particularly from this one person, he-who-shall-not-be-named (but has been named FINALLY). Highly, highly unfortunate that NLUO is now touted as death ground for Vice Chancellors, however able and foresighted he/she maybe. I don't know if this issue is faced by every other Nat Law School Admin, but Orissa Judiciary has only given nightmares to the Institution. The Oriya Land is hinterland for Judicial interference and regionalism. The only thing that can save the University now is the Student Community. NLUO has a very strong student driven culture. The recent moot wins are testimony to the same. The first graduating batch secured decent placements, with around 20 people getting placed in firms which include Khaitan, LKS, AMSS etc--and majority of them were without the University playing any role in it.

Dear Alum, its barely been a month since you graduated and you've begun your tirade of masking your overall failure with the success of a few? Out of your graduating batch of 120 students, barely 5 people secured respectable jobs. Rest are working in LPOs, companies or back-offices of Amarchand (Transactional Support Group) or are still unemployed. And funny that you are mentioning the Student Community. I'd go on record to say that the student community there is anything but formidable. For gods sake, stop harping on your so-called achievements in Tier-4 moots. Moots don't define a university. Stop reading these random columns and go look for a job!

Dear Alum, its barely been a month since you graduated and you've begun your tirade of masking your overall failure with the success of a few? Out of your graduating batch of 120 students, barely 5 people secured respectable jobs. Rest are working in LPOs, companies or back-offices of Amarchand (Transactional Support Group) or are still unemployed. And funny that you are mentioning the Student Community. I'd go on record to say that the student community there is anything but formidable. For gods sake, stop harping on your so-called achievements in Tier-4 moots. Moots don't define a university. Stop reading these random columns and go look for a job!

What are you talking? You seem to be an ignorant moron. You are definitely underestimating the students. It's pitiable that you ask the alumni to "stop reading these random columns" while you comment on comments. Research well, be aware of the happenings in the 'varsity. Else, stop blabbering.

It's funny how you claim to be an 'insider'. 5 could be the figure at the time of graduation, but in the past two months, people have landed jobs which lie beyond LPOs. Keep a track if you are that concerned, will you? Additionally, the placement scene is better than other lower rung law schools. Atleast we did not have to write letters of woes to legal websites. We may stop harping about wins in Tier 4 moots, but our ranking in MPL is decent, atleast better than a lot of other law schools which share the ranking tiers with us. You gotta be kidding me if you wish to see NLUO at par with top 5 law schools. There is a significant gap in sense of establishment between them and us. All I am trying to state is there is no sense of hopelessness and helplessness. We are motivated and this is just the beginning. And if we are talking of what defines a university, Moots define a university as much as placement records do. All part of perspective.

You are an outsider who is in love with outdated rhetoric of useless chaps in some of the law schools. Because, no NLUOite will share your opinion as they all are aware of the contribution of the first batch in every aspect of students' life inside and out of the campus; be it academic, co-curricular or extra-curricular activities.

You have no idea about the placements. And what is wrong in working for companies?

Participation is as important as winning the moots. No matter which tier the moot is in. Since when D M Harish, for instance, became the tier 4 moot? You don't know the contribution of first batch there, right? An OUTSIDER need not know.

Lazy reporting by Kian. You should investigate the root of the problem, which is common to all colleges: lack of good people entering academia due to poor salaries 9compared to corporate sector and law firms) and too much politics. You should interview teachers of various colleges, alumni of law schools teaching abroad and do a proper, detailed report.

Dear Prachi and LI,Your article is really misleading in many ways. First, it tries to convey that the NLUO ought to have been under the sole directives of its vice-chancellor and the High Court should have no role to play. This is a very wrong way of seeing things. The High Court of Odisha is vested with supervisory powers over the Vice-Chancellor, the very reason NLUO’s chancellor is the Chief Justice of Odisha. I am not trying to establish that everything that came down that lane has done good for the University, but just that it had been fundamental in shaping up the University as it exists today [trust me, it’s not that a sad state].Secondly, your article gives an impression that every former VC left because of the interference of the HC. I don’t know what prompted Mr.Nagraj to quit, but I am pretty sure that Dr.Mustafa left NLUO because he was offered the VCship of Nalsar and Mrs. Chandra left because she was made the VC of the Pondicherry University. Clearly those vice-chancellors had better career prospects awaiting them, so they took it.Thirdly and most importantly, when media is quoting and publishing on and about a person who has just quit from an institution, they ought to have exercised more caution and should have checked the facts before publishing. Such a person is likely to get slanderous and when media quotes him, they are basically assisting him in that slander. It’s never an easy task to set up and establish a national law school. A lot of effort has gone into that from teachers, students, parents and a lot of other bona-fide stakeholders. Such articles, irrespective of the motive with which they are written, tend to damage their hard work. Please keep this in my mind while you write on law schools and their administrations.Tnk You

It seems as if NLUO has become a hub for people to come in and gain administrative work experience for their CVs only to become Deans and VCs of other sought after law schools! The traditional blame-game never worked and never will. What the students and the interested law fraternity deserve is a more transparent detail as to what the conflicts are actually about. That should bring about the much needed clarity (some, if not complete) to this chaos.

Some people just dont have it in them. The interference by the Judiciary should not have been a problem for a person who has loads of educational qualifications and decades of experience in a law school. A VC is expected to cope up with the responsibilities and the pressure which comes with the post. He also should have leadership qualities and should be able to work in a group taking all the people together. Faizan Mustafa possessed all these qualities and Dr Nagraj did not have any.

From my experience I can say that Dr. Nagaraj was enthusiastic in the beginning of his tenure, about working for the development of the University. And he did manage to get some good work done, despite the interference.

What has a High Court judge got to do with a law school? Who made him a member of the EC in the first place? They come with bloated egos. Academic institutions of repute should have minimal interference from all and sundry. Only then they will grow into true centers of educational excellence. Unfortunately, we do not find this approach in India.

Hello,Its really sorry to know that V. Nagaraj left NLUO due to interference of judiciary. Since I have a decent knowledge about the University, I can say its not the 100% truth. There are many wrong things happened in past 2 years and in every case the then VC were unable to handle it properly. The founder VC was the best person to handle those things in his time but when he left the University some peculiar things happen. 1st of all, the near and dear of the 1st VC were fired without any proper reason. Among those 6 professors, few had built the University by their blood at the beginning of the University. And they were fired with insult, but now they are in BETTER positions. Similar things happen again in last few months. Some non-teaching staffs including a attendant who were working with just Rs.5000 or less since the existence of the University were terminated without any proper reason. Terminating a Non-Teaching staff(all were lady staff) after 4-5 years of service gives an extreme bad signature for any reputed university. It creates an insecure environment inside the Campus. Moreover, monopoly of few staffs were a routine inside the campus. This link has the detail..www.legallyindia.com/201307013793/Law-schools/nluo-suddenly-lets-six-assistant-professors-go-even-after-low-faculty-strength

University had taken many weak decisions in the influence of some self oriented personality. At the end of the day, the reputation of the University degrades. Moreover, Justice I.Mohanty has a strong personality and he never gives any personal comment for anyone, but its his duty to check if everything is working fine as an EC Member.

If someone will take weak decisions in the influence of some evil personality then there must be a break and that work is done by the judiciary. Now, one can know whether interference is Good or Bad. Without opposition, Nothing can be refined. So, in my opinion instead of blaming others its better to accept the truth and should not Give Up. Anyway, I am sorry for this news but he could have proved himself being inside the campus better.